ose and fell on the
swell, and which Jimmy was holding dangerously near the breaking waves
on the cliff base. "I might hit the boat but I'd break my neck, and
maybe tip you over. Stand her off a little, and I'll show you."

He felt in his pocket for his jackknife, drew it out and opened it. Then
with his left hand he succeeded, after several attempts, in lifting
himself sufficiently to relieve the strain of his body, and with the
jackknife in his right hand cut the line where it circled his body below
the arms.

Hanging now by his left hand he deliberately and coolly closed the knife
by pushing the back of the blade against his leg, and restored it to his
pocket. This done he grasped the line with his right hand just above the
bowline knot, where he had a firm hold, slipped his other hand down to
it, and began swinging in toward the cliff and out over the waves, and
then on an outward swing, let go. Down he went, well away from the
rocks, feet first into the deep water, and, a moment later, appearing on
the surface, swam to the skiff, grasped it astern, and climbed aboard,
shivering from his icy bath.

"Oh, Bobby, you're a wonder!" exclaimed Jimmy. "I never would have
thought of that way of your getting off that line!"

"'Twasn't anything," declared Bobby, deprecatingly, as he seated himself
and picked up his oars. "Now let's pull back where we can put on a fire.
I'm freezing cold."

"I was scared when I found I couldn't pull you up," said Jimmy, as they
rowed back to the gully. "Wasn't you?"

"No, I wasn't scared," boasted Bobby. "I was just getting cold and
numb. The worst of it is I had to drop my bag with all the eggs I
picked off the cliff. I had some dandies, too! Two of them were the
prettiest eggs I _ever_ saw--real small at one end and big at the other,
and all colored and marked and spotted up. They were different from any
eggs I ever saw, too."

"Did you find 'em together, or separate?"

"Found 'em separate, on different ledges."

"I know what _they_ were! They were murre eggs. Murre eggs are different
from any other kind. They've got more colors and marks on 'em. Partner
found some last year."

"There were some murres down on the water, but I never thought they'd go
up to lay their eggs in places like that. The eggs were right on the
bare rock, and weren't in a nest at all, and if it wasn't for their
shape they'd have rolled off."

"It's a strange place for any bird to leave eggs, but that's wh